Detailed notes that summarise the Geography IEB syllabus of Temperature. Included in these notes are important definitions and concepts to learn as well as diagrams that make the section more understandable.
Conductio
• Energy is transferred by contact from one molecule to the next without the
molecule moving
• It is most effective in solids as the molecules are closest together
• Air is a poor conductor of heat, thus it is only the lowest layers that are
heated through contact with the earth's surface
Convectio
• Energy is transferred by movement. Molecules with lots of energy move
from one place to another
• Heated air expands, becomes light (less dense)and rises
• So the heat is transferred to higher altitude.
• Vertical heat transfer is called convection
• Horizontal heat transfer is called advection.
• Convection only occurs in liquids and gases
Radiatio
• Energy moves through space in the form of waves
• As the earth has a lower temperature than the sun it emits long wave
radiation called terrestrial radiation
• This radiation is absorbed by water vapour and gasses such as carbon
dioxide.
• As there is a greater concentration of water vapour and carbon dioxide
close to the earth’s surface, more absorption occurs here and the air is
warmer
• This is why temperature decreases with altitude.
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, The sun is the main source of energy for the atmosphere.
The sun’s energy is called INSOLATION
IN- Incoming
SOL- sola
ATION- radiatio
• The earth’s surface is heated and in turn heats the layers above it by
conduction, convection and latent heat
• Although the sun is the main source of heat energy, it is actually the heated
surface of the earth which heats the atmosphere
Heating of the earth- insolatio
• The sun is a medium sized star with a surface temperature of 6000o C and
is approximately 150 million KM from the earth. Solar radiation is
transferred in the form of waves.
• These waves are from crest to crest, this distance is known as its
wavelength
• The hotter the temperature of a radiating body, the shorter the wavelength.
Solar radiation is thus referred to as shortwave radiation
• The amount of solar radiation that reaches the tropopause is called the
solar constant
• However not all solar radiation reaches the earth’s surface, some of it is
depleted.
25%= Re ection
9%
Scattering
6%
Absorption
41% =29%
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